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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · wake · jam · nail · rule · root · hand · stick

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. root — of a word
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wake — a trail
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fall — the season
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fall — to drop
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com